In Silico Analysis of Uncharacterized Proteins Expressed in Bacillus Thuringiensis

Abstract

Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram-positive, aerobic, rod-shaped, and spore-forming bacterium. It is widely known as biopesticides due to its cry genes encoding for insecticidal proteins called cry toxins which when ingested, the toxin activated in pests’ midgut due to the alkalinity of the midgut and cause osmotic shock and later, death. This bacterium can cause pulmonary infections and food poisoning although it is not a widely known fact due to this bacterium often mistaken as Bacillus cereus. There are still many uncharacterised proteins from B. thuringiensis that have yet to be studied and evaluated. This research is done in hopes to discover new information regarding Bacillus thuringiensis, especially in the medical and pharmaceutical field.